Many useful knots can be found on the internet or in apps for smart phones. (The website www.animatedknots.com shows in animation format how to tie a variety of knots.) What is lacking is the practical experience of what's useful and when to use it.

The top of photo shows a normal bowline, and the bottom knot is the icicle hitch, a preferred knot for smooth, cylindrical objects such as fiberglass posts. Photos by James Haggarty. A simple knot, the clove hitch is a great knot for tying onto something, in this case a pole. Easy to tie, it doesn't jam and is easily untied. A figure eight loop as used in the trucker's hitch. This loop, if an extra wrap or half hitch is wound above the knot, is a great utility loop for any purpose. With the Portuguese bowline, the loops attached to the garden tractor are adjustable after the knot is tied so you can make the two loops equal and pull from the center of the rope. A tow hitch is simple and quick to tie even in cold weather. James has used this knot to tow cars with a truck, and to pull rolls of fencing around the pasture from horseback. This is an example of a knot that uses a figure eight loop, and mechanical advantage, to provide extra tension when tying down a hoop house for chickens, bales of hay on the trucks, or luggage in a roof rack. One of James' favorite knots is the adjustable bend. Simple, easy to tie and untie, and can be used for tying ropes together, electrical rope for fencing, etc. It also allows one to adjust the length of two ropes: slide one knot further apart from the other, then move the second knot. The further the knots are apart, the shorter the length of finished rope.

Our family moved from city life to rural Kentucky in 2003. At that time, I didn't really know what I had yet to learn. Here are the knots that have made my life easier over the past eight years.

First there are some definitions. A bend ties two ropes together. A hitch ties a rope to something else (a post) or another rope. All knots weaken rope. Rope is sold with two strengths on the label, a breaking strength and a tensile strength. The difference is as much as 10 times, 300 lb. breaking strength and 3000 lb. tensile. The breaking strength is assuming normal use; there may be wear or deterioration of the fiber. The tensile strength is a new rope that is stretched to the breaking point.

Knot Types

Icicle hitch—On the top of my list is the icicle hitch. One summer I put fiberglass, 1/4-inch poles in the ground for a temporary electric fence. After a drought and temperatures over 90°F, the ground was baked and the poles couldn't be moved. I purchased a post puller and learned this knot. We now routinely pound 1/4-inch rebar for metal stakes to hold down hoop houses. Getting the stakes out is no longer a problem.

The icicle hitch can, and should, be used for many applications around a farm. Anytime you need to pull the length of a smooth surface, this knot will work. It will save you hours of labor, and will save you money because you won't damage the fiberglass poles.

Clove hitch—a general purpose knot that can be used to fasten a rope to almost anything

Trucker's hitch—a great knot that I should have learned as a child! It ties down hay bales in the back of a pickup, it tightens a rope to use a high line for horses, and tightens ropes to tie down hoop houses. It's actually a combination of knots that makes use of mechanical advantage. With this knot, you can double the force used to tighten a rope.

Mechanical advantage is a term used to describe forces used, for example, on ropes and pulleys. Discovered by Archimedes, mechanical advantage is used by firemen, farmers, wilderness packers, or even families tying down luggage in roof racks on the family car.

Figure eight loop—a simple loop that has many general purposes, and can be used in a waggoner's hitch or trucker's hitch. The figure eight loop takes the place of a pulley, allowing more force to be generated to tighten a rope for a tie down or high line.

Bowline—the bowline actually is a family of knots with many variations. It will jam under very heavy loads and it will weaken the strength of the ropes; but it is a great basic knot anytime you need a fixed loop in a rope. My personal favorite is the Portuguese bowline. This is a knot with two loops, and is adjustable. When our garden tractor is stuck in the mud, this is the knot that goes around both front tires to pull it free.

Towing hitch and Killick hitch—the towing hitch is a great knot that doesn't jam in the mud, snow or when wet. When something is stuck, even a car or truck, this will attach and come loose with relative ease. This works well for pulling fence panels across the pasture. If you add an extra half hitch, this knot makes pulling branches and posts easier.

Adjustable bend—this is a great way to tie fencing together. We use electric fence and I like either the electric rope or narrow webbing. This knot is actually two knots, so if one slips the other will hold. If they both slip, they slide together and lock. Whether it's repairing fences or simply joining ropes, this knot invented by a mountain climber is an easy one to tie.

Recommended reading: The Complete Book of Knots by Geoffrey Budworth: A great book with excellent illustrations and brief histories of many of the knots discussed. It's available in hardcover, paperback, and even in a "playing card" sized deck of cards.

When we bought our first horses, my wife bought me this as a present. Ten years later it still occupies a place of honor, even though it's well worn.—J.H.

James and Laura Haggarty have been working with poultry since 2000. They live on a farm in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, where they have horses, goats, and chickens. They are Life Members of the ABA and the APA. Laura blogs at farmwifesdiary.blogspot.com/. Visit their website at www.pathfindersfarm.com.

To learn more about the American Bantam Association, visit: www.bantamclub.com; write: P.O. Box 127, Augusta, NJ 07822; or call: (973) 383-8633.